Black Widower
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"Black Widower" is the 21st episode of The Simpsons' third season. It was written by Jon Vitti, directed by David Silverman, and saw Kelsey Grammer guest star as Sideshow Bob for the second time.
[edit] Plot
The Simpsons are set to have dinner with Aunt Selma and her new boyfriend, who they are forewarned is an ex-con; the man who arrives on Selma's arm is Bart's archenemy Sideshow Bob. During dinner, he relates the story of his time spent languishing at the Springfield prison: the cells are overcrowded, and his ChapStick is co-opted; he wins an Emmy, which is confiscated ("awards for excellence in entertainment are contraband"). He spent much time seething with desire to exact revenge on Bart, but after receiving Selma's response to his Prison Pen Pal ad, he is inspired to become a model prisoner and earns his release. Bob's tale of supposedly turning over a new leaf wins over the family, except Bart, who remains suspicious. Bob thanks Bart for putting him on the path which led him to Selma, and surprises the family by asking Selma to marry him. She eagerly accepts.
Sideshow Bob makes an appearance at a Krusty the Clown telethon and makes amends; Lisa encourages Bart to be as forgiving as Krusty, but he refuses to believe Bob has changed. When Selma discovers that Sideshow Bob detests her beloved MacGyver and cannot hide his hatred, it is nearly a deal-breaker. Homer explains his solution for his and Marge's dissonant tastes in television: when Marge watches her non-violent programs, Homer goes out for drinks and returns "in the mood for love." Bob agrees to take a "vigorous constitutional" whenever Selma watches MacGyver.
Most of Springfield appears to be in attendance at Selma and Bob's wedding, including derelict Police Chief Wiggum. Selma takes to videotaping her honeymoon with Bob, including his tirade over the omission of the hotel room fireplace he had requested. She retires one evening to watch MacGyver in their suite, and as Bob is downstairs having a drink, we see their hotel room explode behind him. Bob feigns a frantic phone call to the front desk about the "accident."
Sideshow Bob makes his way back to the room to survey the damage, only to find Bart, very much alive, awaiting him. We discover that Selma too is unscathed, Bart having saved her life at the very last moment. Bob is apprehended by police, vowing to return as soon as the Democrats are back in power. Everyone thanks Bart for not losing his mistrust of Sideshow Bob. When Patty came to the Simpsons' house to watch MacGyver for another hour, Bart remembered that Selma promised to smoke only after meals and MacGyver. Bart also remembered that Bob seemed very glad near the fireplace, which rang a bell in Bart's mind: the gas. Fire generates an explosion when a very unstable gas air fills a room. Bart explains it to Homer a few several times and Marge, who is shocked. Racing to the hotel (with the "Simpsonmobile"), Bart saves Selma from puffing a smoke. Bob asked why did the room explode when Bart already stopped Selma. Chief Wiggum reveals that he, Lu, Eddie, and Homer smoked in celebration, Wiggum, forgetting the gas, threw his match into the room which made it explode.
[edit] Cultural references
- The name and aspects of the plot derive from the 1987 film Black Widow.
- The episode begins with a parody of the show Dinosaurs.
- Bob wins a Daytime Emmy Award.
- In Selma's letters to Sideshow Bob, she refers to him as number 24601, the same number assigned to Jean Valjean in the novel Les Misérables by Victor Hugo.
- The sequence at the end with Bart explaining how he foiled Sideshow Bob's plan is a reference to the classic Scooby-Doo, Where Are You! cartoons, complete with the lame joke at the end ("Now let's get out of this gas-filled hallway before we all suffocate!")
- At the Karaoke bar, Sideshow Bob and Selma duet on the Frank Sinatra/Nancy Sinatra song "Somethin' Stupid".
- In the Krusty telethon where he and Bob are reunited, the man who surprises him is referred to as "The Chairman of the Company," a reference to Frank Sinatra's nickname, "The Chairman of the Board." This is a reference to a surprise reunion between former comedy partners Jerry Lewis and Dean Martin on a 1970s telethon.
- The prison where Sideshow Bob is picking up road side trash is a take off of the movie Cool Hand Luke.
- When Bart seems gleeful that Selma and Bob's fight means their engagement is off, he says "Fiddle-dee-dee, tomorrow is another day," a reference to two lines spoken by Scarlett O'Hara in Gone With the Wind.
- When Sideshow Bob goes into the room to see Selma's corpse, he turns around the chair, only to see Bart sitting in it. Sideshow Bob freaks, hits the light, and turns around to see Selma in the doorway. These shots, from Bob turning the chair to Selma in the doorway, is a reference to the ending of Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho, when Lila sees Norman's mother.
[edit] External links
- "Black Widower" episode capsule at The Simpsons Archive
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